Linking Early Financial Difficulties to Partner Violence Among African American Young Adults

• In Event: Family Consequences of Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been a major concern for researchers, policy makers, and the public alike. IPV costs Americans $5.8 billion dollars every year in medical and mental health services and loss of job productivity (CDC, 2013). While there is some evidence of a concurrent relationship between financial difficulties and IPV (Goodman et al., 2009), there is a lack of research on the long-term impact of childhood economic difficulties on IPV in young adulthood. The Family Stress Model suggests that childhood economic hardship compromises familial relationships, leading to depression, caregiver conflict, and ineffective parenting practices. These family experiences, in turn, are likely to lead to an increased risk of IPV in adulthood. Using a longitudinal sample of 233 African-American families, the goal of the current study is to apply the FSM to common couple violence (CCV) in young adulthood. Results showed economic pressure was related to increased caregiver depression, which predicted caregiver conflict. Caregiver conflict exerted a direct effect on ineffective parenting practices, which significantly predicted CCV in young adulthood and mediate the association between caregiver conflict and CCV. The findings of this study point to the importance of early interventions with families facing economic hardship (e.g. subsidized housing).

Authors

• Tara E Sutton, University of Georgia

• Leslie Gordon Simons, University of Georgia